With the start of the Africa Stockpiles Programme (ASP) only months away the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), with the financial support of the World Bank, has initiated a series of training sessions for the countries participating in Phase I of the Programme. These sessions will provide technical guidance in areas such as inventory methodologies, environmental assessment and safeguarding (repackaging) of obsolete pesticides and the associated wastes such as old pesticide containers and contaminated
soils.
The first session took place in Tanzania in early July. Participants from a variety of national stakeholders including the National Environment Management Council (NEMC), Zonal Agriculture administrations and national NGO representatives completed intensive training over a ten day period.
The training was divided into two working sessions. The first session focused on the principles and planning of the inventory in Tanzania. Over an initial six day period participants covered subjects such as defining the institutional arrangements, stakeholder involvement, the role of community and local NGO groups, identification of sectors of society where pesticides are a potential problem, development of sector specific inventory methodologies. The training used lectures and examples from past projects and where possible centred on the presentation of group exercises by the participants, followed by group discussions. The training also provided a valuable opportunity for feedback on the new FAO guidance document for inventory taking. The comments and refinements from the team in Tanzania are currently being incorporated into the document so that it can be used by all countries to assist in the development of a plan for
inventory.
Trainees were then expected to apply their knowledge and training in the field. The group travelled to a pesticide store in Korogwe where old inventory data indicated over 45 tonnes of DDT were stored. This site had been safeguarded in 2003 as part of a joint NEMC / FAO initiative to address a site in Tanzania which posed an immediate threat to public health and the environment.
On arrival the team divided into two groups. The first group focused on gathering information on the store (facilities, general location, details of the structure and so forth) and on the surrounding environment (proximity to water sources, human dwellings, areas of crop production and other points of risk). The second team were requested to complete a detailed inventory of the store contents. A refresher training was given on risk assessment and use of personal protective equipment. The team entered the store and completed the exercise only to find that the previous inventory data was incomplete. A revised estimate suggested that there was in excess of 80 tonnes of pesticide in the store. This example provides a clear demonstration of the need for systematic inventory of pesticides. Without accurate data it is not possible to estimate a cost for the disposal of these products. Inventory must be seen as the first practical step to the elimination of the problem.
During the site visit the teams used templates developed by FAO as part of the Technical Guideline on Environmental Management. These are a vital component of the new FAO guideline on the environmental management of obsolete pesticides. This guideline provides a tool kit for assessing the risk posed by pesticide stores, the prioritisation of pesticide stores based on the potential risk to public health and the environment, guidance on the storage of pesticides at collection centres and on the safe transport of obsolete pesticides. This will soon be published on the FAO web site.
The second working session lasted three days and focused more on applying the principles learnt in the previous weeks and the development of a detailed resource and work plan with budget for the inventory exercise. The team also examined the risks which threaten the inventory in Tanzania and developed a series of performance indicators for use during project implementation. This second session also allowed for a demonstration of the new FAO Obsolete Pesticide Management System database, a way of storing information about each stockpile. The data collected in the field was entered into the system and again provided valuable feedback for the database development team at
FAO.
The key output from this training was a detailed work plan for the inventory in Tanzania. The planning session also clearly demonstrated that without input from the NGO sector in Tanzania the inventory would not reach the many hundreds of thousands of medium and small-scale farmers. The close collaboration between the government and non-government stakeholders adopted in Tanzania provides a lesson to all countries embarking on a similar initiative. Only by adopting a team approach and being receptive to the relative strengths of each stakeholder involved in the process will the country produce an inventory which is accurate and
comprehensive.
The training in Tanzania was facilitated by the Project Manager from the on-going pesticide prevention and disposal operation in Ethiopia. The first hand experience gained during the Ethiopia project is now benefiting other countries as they start on their own projects. It is hoped that this process of capacity development and skills transfer will continue during the implementation of the ASP.
FAO would like to thank the participants from Tanzania for their commitment and efforts over the training period. If the level of support demonstrated over this short 10 day period continues the project in Tanzania will be a great
success.
Dr. Kevin Helps is Technical Officer for the AGPP Division, Obsolete Pesticides Project, FAO, kevin.helps@fao.org